a world of café stories

Black Betty, Christchurch

By KENNY MAH and CK LIM

Visit Christchurch, and Black Betty is one of the first cafés a local will think of when you ask for a recommendation. Opened in February 2011 by veteran barista Hamish Evans, the café had to shut down three weeks later when the earthquake struck.

Undeterred, Evans reopened Black Betty as a pop-up seven weeks later when most other businesses were still closed. The new Black Betty is converted from a café bookshop and so attracts a young student crowd. Evans also owns Switch Espresso, a coffee roaster business, so we’re able to enjoy both a flat white and a siphon brew when we drop by Black Betty.

The Shakshouka is one of the best we’ve tried: the eggs are perfectly baked in a spiced tomato sauce strewn with little nuggets chorizo and spinach. Try their French Toast Crumpets too, with grilled apricot and Doris plums, white cheese, and maple syrup; or with some crispy bacon, grilled banana, and maple syrup.

Black Betty appears to be always bustling, a pretty good sign of the times for a recovering Christchurch. Given its tenacity (another trait it shares with the city), there’s little wonder it was named Christchurch’s best café. One not to be missed when you’re in town, certainly.